Advertising

Monday, Dec 30, 2019 05:37 PM

Why road games are a must for this Bills Season Ticket Member

Buffalo Bills

With a 6-2 record on the road during the 2019 regular season, football fans from across the country have been able to see the power of Buffalo's fanbase up close and personal this year. Bills fans showed their support all season long at New York, Tennessee, Cleveland, Miami, Dallas, Pittsburgh and New England, and will be loud and proud in Houston during the team's Wild Card playoff game on Jan. 4. For Raelynn Harlach, a Buffalo native and Season Ticket Member since 2012, there's nothing like being on the road with her Bills family.

When talking about why her travels started, she said, "Prior to 2012 is when I decided to start traveling. It's on my bucket list to visit every NFL stadium that the Bills play in. I only go when the Bills are there and I try to go to two every year. I've been to 16 stadiums so far. This was the first year that there wasn't a brand-new stadium for me to go to, which was kind of weird.

Off the top of her head, Harlach said she has seen games in or against the "Steelers, Browns, Miami, Jacksonville, Giants, Patriots, Jets, Chicago, Nashville, San Diego, Tampa Bay, Seattle… Philadelphia, Houston and Dallas! I think that's all of them."

Besides being on the road to support the Bills, Harlach loves the atmosphere surrounding game days in Orchard Park and how it encompasses much more than just the games themselves.

"As I've tailgated for many, many years, I've gotten to the point where I don't like to bring all of the stuff myself…. We like to bounce around all of these different tailgates. I have friends in all of the different lots, and it's fun to visit with everybody."

Harlach has made so many great memories with the amount of games she has been to and that makes picking some favorites tough for her. After thinking about her top memories of Bills games in Orchard Park for a while, one recent game in particular sticks out to her.

"Having the bonfires and being part of the victories, and recently probably the snow game [against the Colts] where you couldn't even see. It was just so exciting to be there because you couldn't see the players until they were 10 feet in front of you! Everybody I know that knows I am from Buffalo said, 'Were you at that game? It looked amazing!'"

Advertising

This Ad will close in 3

As far as a favorite road game memory goes, that too proved to be a tough choice for Harlach through all of her travels to see the Bills play.

"I've pretty much witnessed everything I think. It's really hard to pick one [favorite memory]. I think one of my favorite interactions was at the Eagles game in Philadelphia. I know it's not at home, but sometimes those are the best interactions because it's not the hometown crowd and you don't know everybody. I took more pictures, because I'm all decked out from head toe from shoes to socks to wristbands that my mom made for me, to beads… I [just] took so many pictures with so many fans! Being part of that whole game day was unbelievable."

Being a Season Ticket Member is something Harlach is very proud of and Bills games in Orchard Park are things she looks forward to every season. While Harlach does say you cannot beat a Bills game at home surrounded by thousands of members of your "extended family," taking your fandom on the road is something every Bills fan should try for themselves.

"I tell everybody that they have to go to at least one away game since it's such a different experience when you're the minority. Lately, the last three or four years, Bills fans travel so well that we don't feel like the minority [on the road] anymore, we feel like the majority half the time, which is amazing. It's such a great family to be a part of."

Advertising

This Ad will close in 3

The Buffalo Bills would like to thank Raelynn for her many years of being a loyal Bills Season Ticket Member and our Season Ticket Member of the Game. In addition to Raelynn being selected as a Season Ticket Member of the Game, she received a club seat upgrade to the Jets vs. Bills matchup, an autographed item and select Bills merchandise.

If you would like to submit a nomination for a Bills Season Ticket Member of the Game, please fill out the form located here.

The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari.